1976 in Wales

Centuries:	18th; 19th; 20th; 21st; ;
Decades:	1950s; 1960s; 1970s; 1980s; 1990s;
See also:	List of years in Wales; Timeline of Welsh history 1976 in The United Kingdom Scotland Elsewhere

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1976 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

Secretary of State for Wales – John Morris^[1]
Archbishop of Wales – Gwilym Williams, Bishop of Bangor^[2]
Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Bryn^[3]

Events

9 February - The Prince of Wales (now Charles III) becomes commander of HMS Bronington.^[4]
17 February - Operation Julie is launched; it eventually results in the break-up of one of the largest LSD manufacturing operations in the world.^[5]
March - The Welsh Regional Office of the European Community opens in Cardiff.^[6]
June–September - 1976 United Kingdom heat wave: A very hot summer brings a major drought with water shortages.
July - Miners’ leader Dai Francis challenges the Prince of Wales (now Charles III), in the election for Chancellor of the University of Wales.
25 July - Former Submarine Commander Neil Rutherford, DSC & Bar, murders four people at the Red Gables Hotel in Penmaenmawr.^[7]^[8]
4 October - The InterCity 125 high speed train runs for the first time between Swansea railway station and London Paddington.
7 December - Swansea-born former fashion model Lilian Davies marries Prince Bertil of Sweden^[9] at Drottningholm Palace after a 30-year relationship.
date unknown - David Emanuel marries Elizabeth Weiner.^[10]

Arts and literature

May 27 - Actor Stanley Baker is given a knighthood in the Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, a few months before his death.^[11]
August - Dic Jones loses the National Eisteddfod chair on a technicality.
October - Mistar Urdd is created by Wynne Melville Jones.^[12]
unknown date - Griff Rhys Jones becomes Vice-President of the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club.^[13]

Awards

National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Cardigan)
National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Alan Llwyd
National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Alan Llwyd
National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Marged Prichard

New books

English language

Ruth Bidgood - Not Without Homage
Glyn Davies - Overseas Investment In Wales
Kenneth O. Morgan - Keir Hardie
Bernice Rubens - I Sent a Letter to My Love

Welsh language

John Emyr - Enaid Clwyfus^[14]
Alun Llywelyn-Williams - Gwanwyn yn y Ddinas
Owain Owain - Y Dydd Olaf

Poetry

J. M. Edwards - Cerddi Ddoe a Heddiw - Egin
Donald Evans
Geraint Jarman - Cerddi Alfred Street
Gwilym R. Jones - Y Syrcas a Cherddi Eraill

New drama

John Gwilym Jones - Gobaith Mawr y Ganrif

Music

Edward H. Dafis - 'Sneb yn Becso Dam
Alun Hoddinott - Murder the Magician (opera)
Dafydd Iwan - Mae'r Darnau yn Disgyn i'w Lle (album)
Geraint Jarman - Gobaith Mawr y Ganrif (album)
Daniel Jones - Dance Fantasy
Man - The Welsh Connection
Bonnie Tyler - "Lost in France" (debut single)

Film

Welsh-language films

Y Dieithryn, produced by Emlyn Williams

Broadcasting

Sir Huw Wheldon is knighted for his services to broadcasting.

Welsh-language television

Seren Wib, presented by Emyr Glasnant and Sharon Morgan^[15]

Welsh language radio

Tros Fy Sbectol

English-language television

How Green Was My Father: a Welsh Odyssey for 1976, with Ryan Davies and Max Boyce^[16]

Sport

Football – The Wales national football team plays in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 1976.
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Mervyn Davies and the Wales national rugby union team.^[17]
Rugby union – Wales win their seventh Grand Slam.
Snooker
- 30 January – Ray Reardon wins the Masters.^[18]
- 23 April – Ray Reardon wins his fifth World Championship title.^[18]

Births

14 January - Scott Young, footballer
6 April - James Fox, singer
8 May - Ian Watkins, pop singer
13 May - Mark Delaney, footballer
16 June - Cian Ciaran, musician
25 June - Iestyn Harris, rugby player^[19]
14 July - Geraint Jones, cricketer
9 August - Aled Haydn-Jones, radio producer
1 November - Buffy Williams, politician
7 November - Andrew Davies, cricketer
20 December – Adam Powell, inventor
date unknown - Steffan Cravos, musician and language activist

Deaths

3 January – Mal Evans, Beatles' former roadie and patron of Badfinger, 40 (shot)^[20]
23 January – Sir Tudor Thomas, ophthalmic surgeon, 82^[21]
26 January – Eric Francis, architect, 88^[22]
4 February – Roger Livesey, actor, 69^[23]
12 February – John Lewis, Marxist philosopher, 87^[24]
14 February - Tommy Scourfield, dual code rugby player, 66
29 March - Harold Davie, rugby player, 77^[25]
26 March - Duster Bennett, blues musician, 29 (car accident)^[26]
30 March - Jackie Mittell, footballer, 70
31 March - Billy Moore, rugby player, 66
18 April – Haydn Davies, politician, 70^[27]
28 April – Richard Hughes, novelist, 76^[28]
6 June – David Jacobs, athlete, 88
20 June – Sir Goronwy Edwards, historian, 84 ^[29]
28 June – Sir Stanley Baker, actor, 48^[30]
18 July – Jenkin Alban Davies, Wales international rugby captain, 90
22 July – Willie Evans, Welsh international footballer, 63
30 August - David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore, politician, 72
10 October - David Lewis, 1st Baron Brecon, politician, 71
7 November - Glyn Davies, Wales international rugby union player, 49
22 November - Rupert Davies, actor, 60 (cancer)^[31]
24 November - Ambrose Baker, rugby player, ?79
date unknown
- Eveline Annie Jenkins, botanical artist, 82/83
- Meirion Williams, songwriter

References

^ "Morris of Aberavon, Baron, (John Morris) (born Nov. 1931)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u28179. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
^ David Wilbourne (8 June 2018). "Archbishop Gwilym Owen Williams — "G. O.": His life and opinions by D. T. W. Price". Church Times. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
^ Dillwyn Miles (1992). The Secret of the Bards of the Isle of Britain. Gwasg Dinefwr Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-9519926-0-9.
^ Paul Brown (15 March 2010). Historic Ships: The Survivors. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-4456-2006-0.
^ Andy Roberts (30 September 2008). Albion Dreaming: A popular history of LSD in Britain (Revised Edition with a new foreword by Dr. Sue Blackmore). Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. p. 218. ISBN 978-981-4328-97-5.
^ Charlotte Aull Davies (1989). Welsh Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: The Ethnic Option and the Modern State. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-93116-2.
^ North Wales Weekly News, 30 September 1976.
^ Nathan Bevan (22 June 2015). "Inside the hotel where five people died in one of Wales' worst ever mass murders". WalesOnline. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
^ The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's who. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1992. ISBN 978-0-611-00817-6.
^ Richard Harrison Martin (1995). Contemporary Fashion. St. James Press. ISBN 978-1-55862-173-2.
^ Ellen Baker, 'My Husband, My Love', Woman's Own Magazine, December 1976 accessed 26 May 2012
^ Wynne Melville Jones (14 August 2014). Wyn Mel (in Welsh). Y Lolfa. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-78461-029-6.
^ M. J. Simpson (29 April 2005). Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams. Justin, Charles & Co. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-932112-35-1.
^ National Union Catalog. Rowman and Littlefield. 1973. p. 467.
^ Sharon Morgan (2012). Hanes Rhyw Gymraes (in Welsh). Y Lolfa.
^ "How Green was my Father". BBC. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
^ "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Profile: Ray Reardon". Eurosport. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^ "Iestyn Harris: Rallying his motley crew under the banner of Welsh pride". The Independent. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^ Geoffery Giuliano (2 July 2001). Lennon in America: 1971-1980, Based in Part on the Lost Lennon Diaries. Cooper Square Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-4616-3561-1.
^ Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
^ Eric Carwardine Francis at archINFORM. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
^ "Roger Livesey, Character Actor On Stage and Screen, Is Dead". New York Times. February 7, 1976. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
^ Rajani Palme Dutt (1976). The Labour Monthly. Labour Publishing Company. p. 118.
^ Peter Jackson (1998). Lions of Wales: A Celebration of Welsh Rugby Legends. Mainstream. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-84018-026-8.
^ Nick Talevski (1999). The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7119-7548-4.
^ Who was who. St. Martin's Press. 1971. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-312-87746-0.
^ Twentieth-century Children's Writers. Macmillan Education UK. 1978. p. 624. ISBN 9781349036486.
^ The Antiquaries Journal. H. Milford, Oxford University Press. 1978. p. 449.
^ Robert Shail (2008). Stanley Baker: A Life in Film. University of Wales Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-7083-2126-3.
^ Encyclopedia of World Biography: Supplement. Gale Research. 2001. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7876-2945-8.

[1] "Morris of Aberavon, Baron, (John Morris) (born Nov. 1931)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u28179. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 2021-05-05.

[2] David Wilbourne (8 June 2018). "Archbishop Gwilym Owen Williams — "G. O.": His life and opinions by D. T. W. Price". Church Times. Retrieved 6 May 2022.

[3] Dillwyn Miles (1992). The Secret of the Bards of the Isle of Britain. Gwasg Dinefwr Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-9519926-0-9.

[4] Paul Brown (15 March 2010). Historic Ships: The Survivors. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-4456-2006-0.

[5] Andy Roberts (30 September 2008). Albion Dreaming: A popular history of LSD in Britain (Revised Edition with a new foreword by Dr. Sue Blackmore). Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. p. 218. ISBN 978-981-4328-97-5.

[6] Charlotte Aull Davies (1989). Welsh Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: The Ethnic Option and the Modern State. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-93116-2.

[7] North Wales Weekly News, 30 September 1976.

[8] Nathan Bevan (22 June 2015). "Inside the hotel where five people died in one of Wales' worst ever mass murders". WalesOnline. Retrieved 31 December 2018.

[9] The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's who. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1992. ISBN 978-0-611-00817-6.

[10] Richard Harrison Martin (1995). Contemporary Fashion. St. James Press. ISBN 978-1-55862-173-2.

[11] Ellen Baker, 'My Husband, My Love', Woman's Own Magazine, December 1976 accessed 26 May 2012

[12] Wynne Melville Jones (14 August 2014). Wyn Mel (in Welsh). Y Lolfa. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-78461-029-6.

[13] M. J. Simpson (29 April 2005). Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams. Justin, Charles & Co. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-932112-35-1.

[14] National Union Catalog. Rowman and Littlefield. 1973. p. 467.

[15] Sharon Morgan (2012). Hanes Rhyw Gymraes (in Welsh). Y Lolfa.

[16] "How Green was my Father". BBC. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

[17] "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

[RayReardonProfile-18] "Profile: Ray Reardon". Eurosport. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

[19] "Iestyn Harris: Rallying his motley crew under the banner of Welsh pride". The Independent. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[20] Geoffery Giuliano (2 July 2001). Lennon in America: 1971-1980, Based in Part on the Lost Lennon Diaries. Cooper Square Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-4616-3561-1.

[21] Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.

[22] Eric Carwardine Francis at archINFORM. Retrieved 24 April 2012.

[23] "Roger Livesey, Character Actor On Stage and Screen, Is Dead". New York Times. February 7, 1976. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

[24] Rajani Palme Dutt (1976). The Labour Monthly. Labour Publishing Company. p. 118.

[25] Peter Jackson (1998). Lions of Wales: A Celebration of Welsh Rugby Legends. Mainstream. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-84018-026-8.

[26] Nick Talevski (1999). The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7119-7548-4.

[27] Who was who. St. Martin's Press. 1971. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-312-87746-0.

[28] Twentieth-century Children's Writers. Macmillan Education UK. 1978. p. 624. ISBN 9781349036486.

[29] The Antiquaries Journal. H. Milford, Oxford University Press. 1978. p. 449.

[30] Robert Shail (2008). Stanley Baker: A Life in Film. University of Wales Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-7083-2126-3.

[31] Encyclopedia of World Biography: Supplement. Gale Research. 2001. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7876-2945-8.

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1976 in Wales

Incumbents

Events

Arts and literature

Awards

New books

English language

Welsh language

Poetry

New drama

Music

Film

Welsh-language films

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

Welsh language radio

English-language television

Sport

Births

Deaths

See also

References